Hurricane Irene 'Big, Scary Storm,' Astronaut Says

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Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) got an eyeful
of Hurricane Irene's increasing might today (Aug. 25) as their
space capsule streaked over the monstrous Category 3 storm, which
is barreling toward U.S. shores.

Ahead of the flyover, ISS video cameras revealed placid views of
wispy white clouds scattered over the blue of the ocean. Then a
huge mass of white appeared on the horizon:
Hurricane Irene, a powerful debut storm for the 2011 Atlantic
hurricane season.

Even from 220 miles (350 kilometers) above the Earth, the storm's
muscle was on full display.

"This is a big storm," said astronaut Mike Fossum during a live
video feed from the ISS this afternoon. As the ISS moved closer,
a dense swirl of thick clouds filled the frame. [ See
the video of Irene here.]

"This storm is doing a good job of filling up the Caribbean
here," Fossum said, and pointed out what he called the "classic
pinwheel structure" of the storm.

Fossum noted that even over North Carolina's outer banks, a
region not projected to feel the effects of the storm until
Saturday morning, "there's thin stuff that's actually spiraling
way out here."

Hurricane Irene is packing winds of 115 mph (170 kph) with higher
gusts, and could potentially strengthen in the coming day,
according to the latest report from the National Hurricane
Center.

The ISS crew has been watching Hurricane Irene's development for
several days now.

Although the ISS circles the Earth every 90 minutes — 16 times a
day — because it travels at a slight tilt in relation to the
equator, the panorama on view below changes with each pass.

During a
video interview earlier today with SPACE.com, a sister site
to OurAmazingPlanet, Fossum noted that yesterday (Aug. 24) the
storm appeared to undergo a pronounced change, and its structure
became very uniform.

According to the NASA ground crew, Hurricane Irene has a wind
field 300 miles (480 km) wide, and shows no signs of weakening.

"Our prayers and our hopes are with the people who are hunkering
down," Fossum said. "Good luck."